


Finding Love Among Them

by BridgetMcKennitt



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Canon - Anime, Codes & Ciphers, Declarations Of Love, M/M, NPT Treat, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2018-02-07 15:43:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1904604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BridgetMcKennitt/pseuds/BridgetMcKennitt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The formation of Go stones on the board wasn't just for winning a game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding Love Among Them

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yourinsomnia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourinsomnia/gifts).



"What are you doing?" Hikaru asked as he entered Waya's apartment. He and Isumi had a book open between them and as Hikaru looked down at their Go board, he gave them a weird look. "Your moves are really strange. What method are you both using?"

Waya looked up and grinned at Hikaru. "It's not a real game. Isumi found this book that's all about secret coding and communication."

"Cool!" Hikaru sat down next to them. "So how does it work?"

Waya lifted the book so Hikaru could see the pictures on the pages. "There are moves you can put down on the Go board that mean something else entirely. So like placing your stones here in this order," and Waya pointed to the board. It was one of the many odd placements Hikaru had noticed on the board. "Means that you envy the other player and this one here means bitterness." Waya laughed. "Isumi was beating me pretty hard earlier."

Isumi grinned as Hikaru laughed. "I can't help winning."

Waya grumbled, but it was lighthearted. "Then we did this." He pointed to the bottom of the board. "Best wishes."

"But what's the point of coded messages on a Go board? If you're busy making these messages, how will you win?" Hikaru bent down to look closer at the stones on the board. It all looked so haphazard.

"Well, remember when you learned how to count the stones so you could draw your opponent into a tie? It's good mental practice to count your stones to make a message while playing your opponent. Waya and I have been trying to incorporate the coded message with a regular game, but we've both been failing. Want to give it a shot?"

"Yeah!" They cleared the board and Isumi moved so Hikaru could play against Waya. "What coded message should I try to make?"

"Here, take a look at the book."

There were plenty of coded messages one could make using Go stones. Hikaru was pretty surprised by that. Not only could he make a message using just his stones, but he could do the same by attaching near his opponent's stones. And his message would differ depending on if he played white or black. It was all so confusing but amazing. Hikaru's eyes skimmed over the pictures to see what he could do.

"Okay, I think I got something I could do." Hikaru showed the picture to Isumi so Isumi would know what he was trying to do.

Then they began. Hikaru furrowed his brow as he concentrated hard on both beating Waya and placing his coded message on the board. The placement he needed to put his message was on the opposite side that Waya was placing his stones. If Hikaru focused on his message, he was going to lose to Waya and he couldn't have that.

By the end of the match though, Hikaru managed to do it. He grinned at Waya. "You have a message."

"Really? Awesome. What does it say?"

Hikaru showed him the book page and Waya's mouth dropped. "Seriously? You sent me 'I profit' as your message? Is that like you boosting that you'd win?"

Isumi chuckled into his hand as Hikaru grinned. "I did win, barely, but I won."

Waya threw his hands up in the air as he made a disgruntled noise. "We're doing this again. Pick another coded message. Actually, we'll both choose messages to try out."

The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon working out coded messages on the Go board.

*

Waya let Hikaru borrow the book when he returned home so he could memorize more coded messages. The last chapter in the book was about coded love messages. Hikaru gulped as he read the meanings of all the pictures listed within the chapter. One of them was 'Thee Only Do I Love' and Hikaru immediately thought of Akira. They had known each other since they were kids and grew up within the Go ranks together. They had been friends for years as well and Hikaru could count on Akira for almost anything.

Lately, Hikaru had found himself looking at Akira in a new light. He liked him and he didn't know how to tell Akira without ruining their friendship. Hikaru ran his fingers down the book's pages. If he couldn't tell Akira face to face then maybe he could do so with a coded message. Akira wouldn't know what it meant, he'd just think Hikaru was just screwing around, but it was something.

With that settled, Hikaru began memorizing the coded love messages. He was supposed to go over to Akira's house in two days and he could try it out then.

Two days later, Hikaru was at Akira's house. His parents were in China on a Go tour, so it was just the two of them. Akira smiled at him and Hikaru greeted him as he tried to ignore how his heartbeat sped up at the sight of Akira.

"Our qualification matches for the meijin title are in a month. We have to practice hard if we want to move far into the rounds."

Hikaru slipped off his shoes and followed Akira into his bedroom. "You always get pretty far, Akira."

"But this is _you_ we're talking about and I want you to succeed as well as I do." Akira sat on his knees by his Go board and Hikaru sat across from him. "You keep doing silly mistakes and I know you're better than that. We're going to continue playing until you stop doing that."

Hikaru scowled as they chose their stone colors. "It's a valid strategy to draw in my opponent with their arrogance. It works just fine on _you_."

Akira raised his eyebrow though there was a slight smile on his face. "Not all the time, so it's not that great of a strategy. Come on, let's play."

Their first game was a warm up and Akira won by a point. The second game Hikaru won by a few points. And on went their day.

They paused for lunch and when they returned to the Go board, Hikaru decided it was time. He was going to confess his crush to Akira through a coded love message on the board and Akira would never know. It was stupid, but Hikaru didn't care. It was something he could do.

Akira started first with his black stone and Hikaru placed his white stone down. With his white stones, he knew exactly what coded love message to place. He just had to make sure he could place everything down and still play a good match for Akira to notice what he was doing.

Hikaru smiled wryly. Then again, Akira was suspicious and noticed everything.

"Why are you smiling?" Akira gestured at the board. "You placed a bad stone."

It was the first in the line for his coded message and already Akira caught it. Hikaru shrugged. "I'm planning something."

Akira gave him a look. "What are you up to?"

Hikaru placed a stone like he normally would, straying away from his message on the board. "Nothing big."

They finished the game and when Akira was about to shift the stones on the board to count territory, his eyes widened and his fingers remained frozen above the board.

"Akira?"

Akira looked up to meet Hikaru's gaze. "You love me?"

Hikaru jerked back as his mouth dropped open. "What?"

Akira pointed to his message like it was as clear as day. "Here. Right here. This was part of that move I thought was awkward, but you were writing me this." He looked back up at Hikaru, slightly confused. "Or did you? I'm not imagining it, am I?"

Hikaru gulped. "No imagining things. How could you read that? I only learned about it a few days ago."

Akira bent his head so Hikaru couldn't read his face. "When I first met you and you surprised me by the moves you played for your first Go game, then when we were to play against each other during the middle school tournament, I began studying as many Go techniques and strategies as I could. One of the books I found was about coded messages one could make while playing Go. I thought it was amusing, but ultimately not worth my time."

"But you know what that says."

Akira nodded. "Once you understand what you're looking at, it's easy to interpret the code."

Hikaru didn't know that and he flushed. "I think I'm going to go now."

As he rose to his feet, Akira's hand shot out and grabbed Hikaru by the wrist. "Wait, Hikaru. Don't go."

Hikaru wanted to shake Akira's hand off him and go be embarrassed somewhere away from him, but he remained still.

"Is it true? Do you love me?"

Hikaru could only nod.

Akira smiled and took his hand off of Hikaru. He cleared the stones off the Go board and began rearranging a pattern on it. When he finished, Hikaru could only stare blankly at it.

"What does that say?" he asked.

Akira cleared his throat. "It says 'To me, you are everything.' Hikaru, you are my friend and my inspiration. How could I not love you?"

Hikaru smiled widely and Akira made a noise when Hikaru tackled him into a hug. "This is perfect!"

Akira chuckled and linked their hands together. "I'm glad you think so, too."


End file.
